Not enjoying the holidays lately? Ditch the stress and create a more meaningful holiday season with your family.
For many, the holidays can be a time of stress. Tangled Christmas lights, busy malls, tons of cooking, cleaning, guests, etc… It can leave you dreading the holidays. It doesn’t have to be like that though.
We need to bring the magic and love back to the holiday season. The holidays should be a time of joy not dread. Think about your favorite holiday memories, are they of the most expensive gifts you’ve gotten or fun times spent with loved ones? Or maybe a gift that came from someone’s heart. These are the things that normally make the biggest impact in the long run, yet we stress over those details we don’t remember.
This holiday season, try to focus on the important things and put those things on your to-do lists. The other things may also matter to you but try to put them very far down the list and be okay with it if they don’t happen. Last year I never sent out Christmas cards, this made me sad but I knew other things needed to come first. It was still a great Christmas. And this year I’m putting, even more, effort into the important things and stressing less about the rest, and you can as well.
How to Have a More Meaningful Holiday
Decide What is Important
Think about what is really important to you about the holidays. Also, talk to your loved ones about it. Put those things on the top of your to-do list and make sure they come before the other things.
Maybe your family normally has a holiday party but no one really has the time to host this year. Instead of stressing about it, go out somewhere together instead. Maybe there is a fun holiday event in your town you can all go to. Then no one has to worry about the cleanup, cooking, and all the other prep work.
Create Memories
Gifts are a lot of fun and I love shopping for friends and family. However, most of us have far more than we need. And things aren’t what really matters, the people that love us and the memories we make are what matters.
Consider giving the gift of experiences this year instead of so many physical gifts. This is better for the environment and more meaningful. The experiences don’t have to be expensive, many can even be free.
My best friend and I used to skip giving each other gifts and instead would go to eat and shop together after Christmas. We’d use any money or gift cards we got for Christmas so we didn’t spend much money. It was a lot of fun to spend time together and far more special than material things.
Also, consider starting some new traditions. There are traditions that are perfect for everyone, families, couples, kids, and you can even have your own traditions. One tradition I have for myself is to watch Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas while decorating my office and then after it’s all done I watch Miracle on 34th Street.
Additional Resource: Christmas Activities to Add to Your Bucket List
Give Back
Consider doing something to give back to others this holiday season. Nothing reduces stress or brings happiness quite like helping someone else.
Volunteer at a soup kitchen, give to a toy drive, take some cookies to your local fire station, buy a stranger’s coffee, there are so many options, big or small.
You can even do one random act of kindness every day in December. It’s a great way to give back in a simple way.
Simplify Your Holidays
The biggest thing you can do to reduce your holiday stress is to simplify. Write down everything you’d like to do and have to do this holiday season. Mark which things you truly have to get done and then rank other things in order of importance. After that write how much time each thing will take you and when it would need to be done by. And after you do all of that, figure out a reasonable to-do list. You can have an “if I have time” section but be prepared to not do anything on that list and to be okay with it.
I recommend reading my book A Stress-Free Christmas for more great tips on having a simpler holiday season. It is a quick read that is very helpful when you want a less stressful holiday.
Looking for more ways to have a stress-free Christmas? Check out my Christmas website The Stress-Free Christmas.
Mandi says
Love this <3 my husband and I are intentional about doing things that matter during the holidays too
Jennifer says
I love your idea of writing everything down and then making a list of “if I have time”. That’s a great way to put things in perspective. Thanks so much for linking at Tuesday Talk.
Rebekah says
My husband and I simplified our Christmas by not traveling. We love staying home and doing our own thing each year. My favorite part is that the day after Thanksgiving we go out and cut our own Christmas tree down. It’s fun experience and we have a great story from each year we’ve done it. I’m so excited to do it again this year!
Kim says
I LOVE that line from the Grinch…it is my favorite moment from the cartoon and always gives me goosebumps.
Deanna says
I’m going to try to have my Christmas newsletter done by Thanksgiving. For many years that was how I did it but the past few years I’ve been scrambling to get them out before Christmas. That leaves me feeling stressed.
Iris D says
We are also trying to simplify our Christmas.
Michelle says
Enjoyed reading this post today. You offered some wonderful ideas. I too stopped sending Christmas cards. It was one thing I don’t miss either. Another great thing I liked about this post are the ways you suggested we could give back. Many forget there are so many in need all year, but especially this time of year when pressures to make Christmas perfect is felt. I will be featuring this post on my Tuesday Talk next week which fits with my tradition theme. Stop back and see what I have to say about your post. Blessings ….and thanks for sharing this week on Tuesday Talk.
Allison Jones says
I love this! My husband and I have been forced to celebrate the holidays without our families the past couple of years, so we’re definitely focussing more on creating new memories and traditions that we will one day pass down. It makes this time of year more meaningful for us.
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
melissa fowers says
My family has decided we will shop only for the kids with so many adults it makes it much easier
Samantha Plotkin says
We’re not traveling this year – HUGE simplification!
Meghan B says
Pre-plan all gifts and stick to the list
Sandi Tymchuk says
I love that we simply set a limit for gifts, and even give each other ideas for little things we could use. A donation to Oxfam or another worthy cause (WWF) is wonderful!
Melissa says
I love the idea of simplicity when it comes to holidays. Since my parents have passed away, we have a wee family of my little girl, 3.5, and my husband. I enjoy and cherish our time together and have gratitude for what we have…focusing on the importance of the holiday which means happiness and contentment for us! Loved your writing piece and the message!
Dede says
We are trying to buy fewer toys/gifts and more provide more experiences for our kids this year. It will simplify our lives because I won’t have so much to pick up around the house!
Gabrielly says
I’m going to try to have my Christmas list done by Thanksgiving.
aarone mawdsley says
going easy on presents